This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art.
Hand-held mirrors are commonly used by dentists. During use, the mirrors easily become ineffective because of fogging or from being obscured by debris or moisture. This may interrupt the dental procedure, requiring periodic cleaning of the mirror or the use of multiple mirrors for a single procedure.
A manually operated mirror is known that includes a film that can be moved periodically to present a clean, unobscured reflective surface for effective viewing by the dentist. The film may be transparent, overlaying a mirror surface or the film itself may be reflective.
But the known prior art dental mirrors are formed of many piece parts resulting in expensive assembly costs during manufacture. Further, the replacement of the film may be difficult; either requiring a partial disassembly of the mirror or installing a new film onto reels mounted within a tight confined space. Therefore, the inventor hereof has recognized that a need exists for an effective, economical dental mirror.